Canucks Honor Roger Nielson and the Origins of Towel Power

Before their final regular season home game tonight, the Canucks will unveil a statue of former Canucks coach, Roger Nielson.

To tell you the truth, I was surprised when the Canucks announced this earlier this week. After all, Nielson was with the Canucks for less than 3 seasons.

But in that short time, he sure made an impact on us, didn’t he? He coached the Canucks through 17 memorable playoff games in 1982 (and some not-so-memorable ones the season after). He also brought us “Towel Power” – very much a part of our playoff tradition even 29 years later.

The unveiling of Neilson’s statue is open to the public. It starts at 6 PM at Rogers Arena’s North Plaza (across Stadium SkyTrain station).